Beauty Gift Products Buying Guide

The Perfect Gift for the Makeup Lover

Makeup is a great gift - even if it's for yourself! Many people find beauty and personal care to be therapeutic; believe it or not, dedicating a little time each day to pamper youself can make a huge difference. Whether you're looking for a mother's day present or just a Wednesday afternoon pick-me-up, you'll find whatever it is you're looking for here. If you're not sure makeup is the gift you're looking for, try one of our broader articles on the Gift Guide Resource Page. Or, check out one of the related guides below!

• Birthday Gifts
• Mother's Day Gifts
• Valentine's Day Gifts
• Gifts for Women
• Gifts for Girls
• Gifts for Moms
• Gifts for Sisters

Tips for Buying Makeup as a Gift

The place to start when buying makeup for someone else is knowing exactly who you are buying for.

• Keep in mind the recipient's skin tone and coloring, including eyes, hair, and skin color.
• Know the recipient's makeup and fashion style: classic, preppy, casual, elegant, trendy, sporty, etc.
• Analyze the recipient's typical makeup wearing routine. Someone who likes to experiment and vary their look from day to day is easy to please, but someone with strict standards will need the buyer to pay close attention to detail. Also, think about if the person likes to keep maintenance to a minimum or if spending time for precise application is pleasurable.

What to Buy

Color Buying someone individual pieces of "color" can be a hard task. This includes lipstick ,eyeshadow ,blush , and liners. Usually, unless you know the recipient very well, it's best to avoid this route unless you opt for something so truly outrageous that a girl can't help but love the product's ingenuity.	Makeup Palette Palettes  that combine a series of color elements in the perfect proportion and hue are great gifts for anyone who likes makeup. Try and choose a warm or cool set to best suit the recipient's skin tone. You can opt for lipstick, eyeshow, or complete palettes that cover lips, eyes, and cheeks.	Makeup Tools Makeup tool sets  packaged in a pretty case are ideal gifts. They are usually reasonably priced and there is no worry that you might be buying the wrong shade. Lots of companies offer travel kits and gift kits around the holidays at very reasonable prices. These also make great stocking stuffers.	Cosmetics Case A cosmetics case  is a no-fail gift. There is no chance of choosing a wrong color and a girl who has makeup always has a need for a new makeup case . There are many options in all price ranges to suit everyone's budget.	Makeup Books Buying a makeup book  for a cosmetics fanatic may be the perfect accessory to their collection since you don't have to worry about colors. Plus, a girl who has too much makeup inevitably can use more ideas for how to use it!

Great Stocking Stuffers

The following items are cheap and tiny, perfect for stuffing stockings or for giving as little gifts to friends.

Too Faced Quickie Chronicles	Dessert Beauty Deliciously Kissable Plumping Lip Fragrance Gloss	Avon INSTANT MANICURE Dry Nail Enamel Strips	DuWop Mini Venom Trio	Sephora Multi Colored Striped Brush Kit

Pretty Practical Palettes

An all-in-one palette compact is the perfect purchase for yourself or as a gift. They offer the sleekest, most stylish cases that house everything from office neutrals to bright and bold options for the evening or weekend. Choose accordingly and these value sets will be sure to please every taste.

Sephora Message Palette	LORAC Snake Charmer	Las Chicas Face Case	Bobbi Brown Pink Palette	Lola Cosmetics Lola Go Lightly

A Hundred and One Hues

Two lip colors are better than one, and surely four eye shadows are better than two. Palettes with oodles of options are a great addition to someones home makeup collection. As long as you know that they are all about eyes or obsessed with lip color, then you are bound to get them the best gift possible. It is also great to help narrow down your fave shades when unsure about what suits you best. Here are some of the coolest palettes for eyes, cheeks, lips, and even palettes that can covert from one essential to the next.

MAC	Philosophy	Cargo Color Cards	DuWop	Stila
This lip gloss palette in pink is perfectly posh for $35. Another option for lips? Try NARS .	They're called finger paints for a reason-- easy to apply anywhere. Benefit  has something similar.	Single use, credit card size eyeshadows come in a 28 color set. Also see CARGO Liquid Shadow CollectionsrTitle, a pack of six bright eye gels ideal for wearing this holiday season.srTitle	A beautiful, simple palette for eyes. Also see Lancome ,Dior ,Fresh ,Cargo ,Stila  and Givenchy .	Fusion Beauty ,Lorac ,Philosophy ,Benefit , and Cargo  all offer equally fun gloss sets.

Terrific Tools & Accessories

You are buying for someone who makes makeup a part of their daily beauty regime. Colors are part of the challenge, but perfect application is what makes it an art. Help her make the most out of her makeup with these brush sets.

Sephora Two Tone Portfolio Brush Set	The Body Shop Mini Brush Kit	Pop Beauty Party Kit	Benefit True Confessions Makeup Bags	Urban Decay Cocktail Collection

Customizable Kits

Maybe you haven't heard, but since 2004 a company called E.L.F. Cosmetics (Eyes.Lips.Face) has been selling affordable and customizable beauty kits online. Introduced by the creator of Hard Candy and Neutrogena's men line, this company offers a line of eye, lip, face, and nail care products as well as beauty tools. The fun part about these cosmetics is that they are priced at $1 a piece. That's right. One dollar. For $5-$10 you can purchase a makeup bag or clutch and fill it with all the goodies your heart desires at only a dollar a pop. They also have a series of prepackaged makeup goodie bags. Last but not least, the company also makes products to support the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Women's Information Network Against Breast Cancer (WINABC). Check out the E.L.F. Web site to buy. Read on for a few details about the products themselves from actual users.

• A dollar is a great price for what you get. The makeup is basic, comparable to Wet n' Wild or N.Y.C. Cosmetics. The tools and makeup brushes are a steal. They are soft and well made and are perfect as an extra set for travelling. The cases are wonderful for storage. The $5 size is the smallest and most portable of the bunch.
• The clear eyebrow and eyelash stick is great at doing what it's supposed to. So is the illuminating eye brightener and the non-feathering lip liner.
• The powder and eyeshadow products are easy to blend and apply.
• The facial whip is a bit sticky and somewhat hard to blend. It also has a slight odor to it. Combine it with a cream or lotion and you have your own illuminating moisturizer at no extra cost.
• The makeup remover pads can dry out your skin and leave a slight residue.

Surprise!

Want to surprise a beauty and makeup lover with something new for months to come? Yellow Beauty Box is a new "makeup of the month" club that can be ordered for 3-, 6-, or 12-month intervals, and the more months you buy, the better the deal.  Why is it called Yellow Beauty Box? The answer is simple. The box that arrives at the recipient's address is a yellow box filled with two or three new products, either in full or trial size depending on the number given. The products cannot be chosen in advance so you have no guarantee that you will like the product or that the colors will be great on your skin, but they do strive to please a wide variety of tastes (we hope). Plus, even if the colors aren't great at least you can get an idea of how the product performs and whether or not you will want to buy it in the future. The products are adequate for any makeup-wearing female from teens and up. There are no products for men at this time.